Notes from K
by KoopaSensei
Summary: If you are not someone well versed in coded phrases and secret organizations, then these notes are not meant for you. I would recommend you burn them, but that seems less than noble. If you are a fellow volunteer, than I recommend reading the report. -K


If you're reading these notes, it means that you have entered the Danielewski Library, known for its esoteric collection of reading material. While there, someone dressed as a librarian with no hair and no beard approached you and asked, "Did you require any help?" to which you responded, "The question is, do you?" If said response was made out of politeness, then these notes aren't for you. I'd ask you to burn them, but considering the life I've led, perhaps a paper shredder would be more noble. Though given what I've learned as of late, nobility seems to be in rather short supply.

But if you're the kind of person whose ears are always primed for coded phrases, ready to give the proper response to show you're a volunteer, then these notes are, I'm sad to say, for you. I hope they help you more than they have helped me. The world is quiet here. -_K_

Entry 1

It's my third week of labor here, and I've finally had a spot of luck. Not only have I traded what scraps I could smuggle in here for a journal to write in and a pen with which to write, but a book I can read in my rare moments of leisure. An odd coincidence to be sure, as the only available literature is "The Unauthorized Autobiography of Lemony Snicket". This work has been on my reading list for some time, but the life of a volunteer gives one little time to site and read, to my misfortune.

The article from the Daily Punctilio regarding _L_'s supposed death and his response to said article were both clearly written while he was still researching and publishing his series of books. This is most evident when the article references the series by name. As for the letter regarding the "Little Snicket Lad", I could find no clues as to its origin in terms of chronology, but I do know I'll be humming that song as I work for quite some time, regardless of the incorrect music notes in the book. -_K_

Entry 2

It's been four days since my last entry, the master of this house has been unyielding as of late. I've barely had time to read the second chapter, let alone pick up my pen. This infiltration has been abysmal, to be sure, but I have suffered worse, as _L_, I am sure, is well aware.

This letter, possibly from the Duchess of Winnipeg, is, like the previous article, written during _L_'s research. When did her first go on the run? Considering his past with _B_, I'd assume quite some time. Did he live on the lamb, so to speak, for decades? I hear footsteps approaching, so I must hide these notes, my pen, and the book inside my cot, before I am caught. _I_ would have appreciated that. -_K_

Entry 3

It seems fortune has smiled on me. Only a day since I last wrote, and the whole staff is given two hours off. I'm the only one to head to where we all sleep, giving me the privacy needed for this new entry. O frabjous day, callooh callay.

I was amazed to find a transcript of a VFD meeting in this book, on that is either just before or shortly after the beginning of the Schism. Of course, it's made mostly illegible to the layperson thanks to the security measures, such as the initial system used then and now. But the thing that makes reading information from this era the hardest has to be their odd tendency to refer to themselves as if they're all small children. I've done the math, most of the volunteers at this meeting were at least teenagers or young adults. This reoccuring deaging in official documents must be a code or some kind, but I'm unsure of the reason for its implementation. Considering only a handful of volunteers from this era of VFD are even still alive, I'm unlikely to ever learn the intention. -_K_

Entry 4

I'm beginning to wonder if I should abandon this quest, considering how poor my luck has been thus far. Not a single hint of where the notes I'm seeking are, no matter how many conversations I eavesdrop on or rooms I bug. Still, I should give it at least another month before quietly disappearing. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.

The fourth chapter of the book claims to be regarding the Quagmire Triplets in the title, though the actual connection is more tenuous. The Sebalt Code is something I learned quite some time ago, and reading the script for "Zombies in the Snow" takes me back to seeing it with _M_ at the theater. Was the film made just to let volunteers know the location of _Q_? Or did they slightly rewrite the script and refilm it for each new message? Sebalt's been gone so long, I've never had the chance to find out. -_K_

Entry 5

Reading that letter from _J_ was difficult, to put it lightly. Even all these years later, I still have nightmares about his passing. The articles from the Daily Punctilio are a side of _L_ I've never seen before. He must have already known _O_ at the time, from what I understand of their childhoods. Was this the beginning of his life on the run?

I don't have anything to say about either wedding invitation. At least, nothing I'd want to share with others. -_K_

Entry 6

Finally! I overheard the house's master quietly tell a subordinate about his fears that someone was looking for the Snicket File. It wasn't enough to learn where they are, but at the very least I know I was correct that it was in this man's possession. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to know my efforts thus far have yet to be in vain.

It's good to see that it was _J_ who helped _L_ escape imprisonment. It's nostalgic to see that kind of sibling affection through rescue efforts. The VFD Disguise Training Guide is something I've copied down somewhere else. I've had the disguise kit for years now, but without the formal training I just had to use what I could where I could, I'd not known what pieces went with what for the different set disguises. Even now, it seems I've combined the Doorman and Detective disguises together to hide my presence here behind the character of "Kauries Laudable". Perhaps those years with _O_ influenced me more than I'd like to admit. -_K_

Entry 7

No further clues as to the Snicket File.

This chapter merely showed how those who start fires began exerting control over the Daily Punctilio to hide their crimes, as well as how _E_ was able to marry Jerome without _J_ being able to stop her. Not to mention why she did so in the first place. All these years later, it's still an open mystery as to who made me an orphan. It's become clear it wasn't _O_, but it could well have been _E_. Other possibilities exist, but I'd do well not to linger on them. -_K_

Entry 8

The head butler approached me today and commended me on my fine work ethic and willingness to do what I've been told. After I made some polite comments back, he told me I'd soon be entrusted with a cleaning duty that required more trust in me, then gave me a vague threat about what would happen if that trust were to be broken. I should have the File within the month.

I'd never known that _K_ had taught at Prufrock Preparatory School after I had left, nor that she seemed to be assigning material to train some new volunteers. The fact she left with several students implies she'd succeeded in finding possible new converts. One must wonder where those children are now. The fact she assigned some of _L_'s books is also interesting. How many had come out while I was still on the lamb myself? It also seems I blamed Mr. Poe for slightly more than he deserved, the telegram sent to him in our time of need never reached his eyes. Neither did the one making clear how much danger his sister was in. -_K_

Entry 9

Considering the message in the Sebalt code and how the heading is scratched out, despite the stationary used, the first letter of this chapter was clearly written **to** _L_, not **by** him. The rest of the chapter shows that some fire starting fellow followed _M_'s reptiles in the hopes of capturing them, and that a volunteer spotted this and reported it to _L_. Nothing else to really discuss.

Entry 10

My first "special assignment" began today:cleaning a hidden room. It's only accessible my pressing the pear on a painting of a fruit bowl, and inside there are many filing cabinets. The File I seek must be in one, but I'm being watched whenever it's my turn to clean this room. I'll need to sneak in when they aren't expecting to take what I need.

The entries from _L_'s commonplace book where fascinating to read. I'd heard from another, older volunteer sometime ago that VFD is only the latest incarnation of an organization much older than anyone realizes. It's impossible to prove, but it does raise the question as to whether the Mambu du Mal code used phrases from the book "Charlotte's Web", or if it existed previous to that, and were written into the novel as code. I'll also have to check every copy of "Ivan Lachrymose: Lake Explorer", specifically between pages 302 and 303. -_K_

Entry 11

I had to leave the book behind, there was no time to take it. In the middle of the night, I snuck into the room and found the Snicket File, though only one page of it remained. A setback, to be sure, but the page I received was more than worth the trip and loss of a book. As I sit in on the uncomfortable metal bed of a freight train cargo car headed as far as possible from the home I've just burgled, I'll share with you the most pressing detail from the page I recovered, a copy of a note written by _L_ that looks like he tried to burn it.

"Despite her initial objections, _B_ went through with the task as required. I purchased the poison darts, _D_ was used as an intermediary to get them from me to her. At the theater, she used them to eliminate the two who had been supporting some of our fire starting foes. I still feel like it was the best option, but I hope with all my heart that _O_ never learns of what we've done. -_L_"

I can see why _L_ wanted to burn this so badly. It's an admission, one that makes it clear that _O_ wasn't lying about what he implied about my parents, about my mother. I'm going to try and find _V_, she should still be in the same place. She doesn't want to consider herself a volunteer, but I hope she'll still make enough copies of this page that the information can spread to all of what remains of VFD. Maybe even _S_ would pick up a copy. It would be nice, having all three Baudelaire's back together again. Time will tell if such hopes are prophetic or dashed to the rocks.

Keep fighting fires, volunteer. The world is quiet here.

-_K_


End file.
